Demons in the Light
by Kestrel4
Summary: Yami contemplates how to save his hikari from the demons in Yugi's mind... Not yaoi but if you absolutely *must* think that way...


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Akurei no naka de Hikari ... Demons in the Light

The moon is harvest, waxed full and golden, tonight. She is so bright, so comforting and yet so cold, with her crown of stars so innocently gleaming...

My _hikari_ sleeps soundly this night. It is the first night out of many. His nightmares come in droves, and try as I might, I can never stave them off for long. I am always defeated. They come not from the Shadow Realm, but from the realm of Yugi's own sweet mind. Therefore I can do nothing against them for fear of hurting my light. And that is something I will never do.

The moonlight, serenely slipping through a crack in the curtains, highlights my dear _hikari's_ face. He shows no signs of stress in sleep, for when one dreams one's troubles seem to melt away. For weeks now this has not been so for little Yugi, his troubles had only multiplied when he closed his amethyst eyes. But for now, the demons let him sleep.

To quote that aloof nemesis of Yugi's, Seto Kaiba, "Even the enemy has to rest sometime." He had gone on to say that he would strike when the danger was weakest, but I cannot say the same. I will not risk hurting the one I am bound to in order to banish some unknown danger. He is strong, he can banish them himself.

Slumping back into my earlier position on the window seat, my knees up to my chin and my arms tucked around my legs, I mentally chide myself for what I just thought. Yugi is very young, and nowhere near as strong as I. But no matter, I still cannot help him. They will not let him open his soul door. I cannot enter his mind.

Slowly but surely, my light turns against me. I have seen it every day since the nightmares grew worse: a haggard disbelief in something they whispered in his tender ears, a wary dislike for something they told him I had done. And perhaps I did do it, once, long ago, before my memory was ruptured and before I was placed in the Millennium puzzle.

Yugi whimpers; my ears perk up and I am off the window seat and by his side faster than a candle flickers. I hear him mumbling under his breath, he must be screaming at the demons in his head and telling them that whatever they say cannot be true. His small fists, bunched and white, flail beneath the sheets. I sit upon the bed, perched on the edge as his petite frame writhes. They will take hold of him soon, and he will force me out completely. Then I will fade.

I cannot take his small cries any longer; I place my cool hand upon his feverish brow and close my eyes. At once I am in front of his barred soul door, and I can hear them cackling, calling from within.

"You are too late, oh king of darkness," One shrieks. 

"Spirit!" Yugi calls; he is weak but still alive. I beat my fists upon the door to no avail.

Then as the demons are taunting me and torturing my little _hikari_, I remember my— his— deck. It is still in my pocket. I draw a card and raise it. It is a risky move, calling a monster within Yugi's mind, but I believe it is the only move that can save him. My earlier inhibitions are gone. I feel only a white, hot rage at the demons for what they have done to Yugi.

The Dark Magician reduces the door to mere fragments with his dark magic attack, and I rush inside. I call forth the Mystical Elf, and her healing energies light the scene before us. 

Demons lie on the floor, over toys and books and memories, melting at the light. They hiss as we pass, but I take no notice of them. My eyes are trained on a faint light in the far reaches of Yugi's soul room.

His fragile body is battered and scarred; evidence of a hundred such battles mars my _hikari's_ frame. I gather him into my arms as I kneel amidst the rubble.

Yugi opens his eyes, and groans. At first he does not see me. He snuggles into my chest as though to burrow in its warmth, and then his nostrils perk. The faint Egyptian spice and rose petal scent that clings to me has also betrayed me. He flails away from me, his fingernails scratching my cheek and drawing blood.

"You... you..." He mutters, trying to make sense of my presence and all of the dying demons, "You told them to torture me. I saw you, laughing, happy at my pain..."

He collapses, and once more I draw him into my arms. "I would never hurt you, my little light. Nor would I ever let anyone hurt you."

I know at once how empty these words would sound to a young man who has suffered endless nights of agony. His amethyst eyes scream, Why?

_I did not want to destroy your mind by blasting apart the walls._

I did not want to hurt you unnecessarily.

I did not want... to lose you.

I can see, even as I think them out, that my answers are selfish and wrong. I draw a breath, as though to speak, but not even I know what I would have said had Yugi not begun to cry.

His tears run down his pale cheeks and into his hair. I lift him up in my arms and, without truly knowing why, kiss his tears away. He stiffens at my touch, but then fatigue takes over and he sags in my arms. 

"I do not want to lose you, _aibou_," I say, my lips close to his ear. He nods, and his hair rustles against my cheek. "Never again will I wait to save you, no matter what the risk may be."

I draw back and gaze at my _hikari_. He smiles up at me, a bit tiredly, and suddenly we are out of his mind and in his moonlit bedroom. 

I gently lower his head down on to the waiting pillow. He wiggles a bit under the covers and the small noises he makes while doing so cause me to sigh and smile. I know now why I rushed in there, against the odds, against my own will.

I love my _hikari_.

"I love you, my light."

Within the depths of slumber finally free, Yugi sleepily smiles. His small hand finds mine and grasps it firmly, like a child grasping a favorite toy. 

"Love you too, 'pirit."

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This actually came from a dream I had. Sometimes I pulls stuff like this out of dreams. I've done it before and will do it again.

Please review. Flames will be used to burn Pegasus, 'cause he's just plain creepy.

All: ^_^° *sweatdrop*


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